


Thanksgiving Slacks

by TuesdayWithSunrise



Category: Bawson
Genre: F/M, Holidays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-27 23:17:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16711894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TuesdayWithSunrise/pseuds/TuesdayWithSunrise
Summary: Thanksgiving and road trip plans.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Continuation of “Between now and Thanksgiving”
> 
> I’ve been sitting with his first two months and how someone who has never done anything else begins something new.

She answered the door in wide leg black slacks and a blouse with a gloriously deep neckline and burgundy roses in the pattern. 

Mike’s first two months of retirement had been hard. He had essentially never been unemployed and even though money wasn’t a concern the lack of something to prepare for was strange and uncomfortable. 

He knew himself well enough to know that he was a wreck. Ginny knew him well enough to know what might help. They kept their nightly phone calls but she only saw him a couple of nights a week. It would have been easy to accidentally move in, and they both felt like it was inevitable, but he needed to define himself before that happened. 

She grabbed her overnight bag and locked up her place at the Omni. Thanksgiving was fun, with good friends and real laughter. The night at Mike’s was exciting and comfortable simultaneously. 

They woke up the next morning, tangled together and smelling of each other. After an hour they got up to get coffee and Ginny worked up the nerve to start a conversation she’d been thinking about. 

“I want to take you away, how much lead time would it take for you to head out for three weeks?”

Mike was stunned, the holidays had started and he knew that January 2nd she’d be in full swing getting ready for the season to start. “I can leave tomorrow if there is an internet connection.”

“Good. That’s what we will do then. I’ve got a plan, can we use your SUV?” 

She wouldn’t give him more details and instead headed home to pack some things. She promised the number she’d been saving in the tissue paper but love can’t grow on lingerie alone.


	2. What she’ll never know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting ready for the trip of a lifetime.

The first part of the day was a string of abrupt questions from Mike. 

Suit? (Yes)  
Passport? (Never hurts)  
Bike rack? (Yes. Later....never mind the bike rack)  
Glove? (No)  
Workout gear? (Yes - yoga, running, swimming, easy hiking, tape too)  
Laundry access? (Off and on - 4 day gap at most)  
Warm or cold? (Never too much of either)

Ginny was bouncing around her place as she packed, double checking availability and making sure all her stuff was organized in ways that wouldn’t give away the whole trip if she left the iPad open. 

It took a bit to notice her phone had gone quiet. Mike had quit asking for help knowing what to bring. 

She’d never see it, but Mike was standing in front of his bathroom mirror. He adjusted the tuck in the towel around his waist but never took his eyes off of his reflection. He had clippers and shaving gear splayed out on the counter. He just stood there and stared at himself - wondering. 

He wondered when he would be a burden to the amazing woman he knew he loved, because it was inevitable that he would be eventually. He wondered about the next chapter of his life, now that he didn’t have baseball but would spend the summer cheering Ginny on if she’d let him. He wondered about his dad, and a little about his mom. He wondered what version of him passed through Rachel’s mind when she thought of him. He wondered about his chin and what it looked like these days. He wondered if the beard was what kept Ginny coming back. 

He laughed at first, knowing that he had more to offer Ginny than well groomed facial hair. Then his mind got quiet and he had his first big snot slinging cry in a very long time. He slid down the bathroom wall and sat in the floor until he was done. He cleaned up, packed away his shaving kit, and picked up his phone. 

Ginny? (Yes? And no, you don’t need skis)  
Um. Ok. I do need something else (ok, what?)  
I need you to know that I’m yours - all in for this adventure. (I’m glad. It will be good). 

He’d never see it but she blushed and grinned as she squeezed the phone to her chest.


	3. Patio words

Mike was at the Omni about noon. Less than half of the back was packed and there was a wide array of road food behind the driver’s seat. 

Ginny opened the door in her actual bathrobe. She had her fancy sleepover bathrobe that was sexy and elegant but her *actual* bathrobe was from high school and was a ratty mess. Her hair was piled on her head and she didn’t have any make up on. She was breathtaking and beautiful. Mike didn’t say hello and was barely in the door as he reached for the knot in her robe tie. 

At four they headed out of town. About three hours away they pulled into a retreat center. Ginny hadn’t been really forthcoming about her plans but she did say that this would give them a chance to slow down for awhile. 

They parked and checked in. Their bags were sent to separate small rooms with very little decoration. Then they were brought out to a patio and served tea while they watched the sunset. 

Willow came out with light dinners and explained the next three days. There would be plenty of time to read (there was a library on site) and enjoy the view, but there would also be yoga twice a day, work around the campus, and assistance with meal prep. 

Yoga had been growing in Mike, he loved to cook, and the campus was beautiful- it sounded like a nice time. Then Willow said something that made Mike uncomfortable. That the next four days were to be spent in silence. 

Ginny looked at Mike, worried that he might be mad or would somehow go for the joke. Mike looked back at her with a little fear and said, “This is because you see something I don’t right now, right?”

“I think I do” she replied. 

Mike nodded and looked at Willow, “This is a surprise for me, so I haven’t prepped. Can you tell me what I might expect? What is uncomfortable but normal? What is a common stumbling block?”

Willow looked between the two of them and was impressed by the deeply engrained trust she saw. Then she spoke directly to Mike about the discomfort and what happens for some people when they push through and the mental chatter subsides. 

It was almost ten when they finished talking and laughing together. Willow excused herself while Mike and Ginny said good night. It would be days before they spoke again. 

After a couple of soft kisses Ginny pulled back and said, “I need to get some sleep, good night and I love you.” 

She had never said it to anyone before. 

Mike’s voice caught in his throat as he tugged her close for one more kiss. “Good night, and I love you too.”

Mike got ready for bed and as he turned off the light he whispered, “Hot damn. She loves me.”


	4. Books and burbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halfway through a silent retreat.

Two days into a silent retreat and here is what Mike knows. 

1\. He and Ginny can have entire conversations without a word. He knew it before but this has heightened it. 

2\. Silence is uncomfortable. He can’t confirm he’s a charming rogue if he can’t talk to folks. 

3\. The trees halfway to the ridge smell amazing, like nothing he’s ever been around. Without the ability to ask he had to do a quick drawing and look for tree books in the library. He spent the rest of the afternoon with the book wandering around and looking at trees. 

4\. Yoga is not his thing. 

5\. Ginny said she loved him. 

What Ginny knows. 

1\. She is not a vegetarian at heart. The food is nourishing, plentiful, and tasty but first up when the are done is some beef. 

2\. Mike’s eyes are clearer than they have been since he retired. He really wants to talk but he is watching everything, listening to everything, and it is kind of sexy. 

3\. There is the start of an idea for a non-profit. Of course she will support female athletes but she wants to do something for the planet too. The creeks around the campus are burbling a request. 

4\. Grape soda. She drinks a lot and she’d jump the fence and go get more if she had the damn keys. 

5\. Mike loves her back.


	5. Books and burbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halfway through a silent retreat.

Two days into a silent retreat and here is what Mike knows. 

1\. He and Ginny can have entire conversations without a word. He knew it before but this has heightened it. 

2\. Silence is uncomfortable. He can’t confirm he’s a charming rogue if he can’t talk to folks. 

3\. The trees halfway to the ridge smell amazing, like nothing he’s ever been around. Without the ability to ask he had to do a quick drawing and look for tree books in the library. He spent the rest of the afternoon with the book wandering around and looking at trees. 

4\. Yoga is not his thing. 

5\. Ginny said she loved him. 

What Ginny knows. 

1\. She is not a vegetarian at heart. The food is nourishing, plentiful, and tasty but first up when the are done is some beef. 

2\. Mike’s eyes are clearer than they have been since he retired. He really wants to talk but he is watching everything, listening to everything, and it is kind of sexy. 

3\. There is the start of an idea for a non-profit. Of course she will support female athletes but she wants to do something for the planet too. The creeks around the campus are burbling a request. 

4\. Grape soda. She drinks a lot and she’d jump the fence and go get more if she had the damn keys. 

5\. Mike loves her back.


End file.
